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Sincerity is the foundation-stone of faith. That is, a religious individual
must disregard his personal desires and seek in whatever way he can
wholeheartedly to serve the public interest; and it is impossible for a human
being to turn aside from his own selfish advantages and sacrifice his own good
for the good of the community except through true religious faith. For
self-love is kneaded into the very clay of man, and it is not possible that,
without any hope of a substantial reward, he should neglect his own present
material 97 good. That individual, however, who puts his faith in God and
believes in the words of God -- because he is promised and certain of a
plentiful reward in the next life, and because worldly benefits as compared to
the abiding joy and glory of future planes of existence are nothing to him --
will for the sake of God abandon his own peace and profit and will freely
consecrate his heart and soul to the common good.
(Abdu'l-Baha, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 96)
I suspect I don't understand the meaning of this passage as it doesn't seem to
square up to facts. It's impossible to sacrifice your own good for the good of
the community except through religious faith. Huh? Am I to believe atheists,
agnostics, and people who believe in God but not religion never do anything
selfless for the sake of others? Or that these people never give to charity?
There was a period in my life where I didn't have true religious faith by any
means, yet I still donated generously during this time. I wasn't hoping for a
'substantial reward' then and a reward isn't my first priority now.
Also, I didn't think you were supposed to believe in the words of God just
because of a reward when you get to heaven. Since when have most needed
rewards in order to believe?
Regards,
David
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